the government, the country's military police chief has defected. then he says he felt the army was no longer acting in the interests of the syrian people. >> the officer in this video identifies himself as the head of the military police. he says the syrian army is not protecting a country. instead, it is destroying cities and committing massacres against unarmed civilians. his defection is another blow to the regime, which is trying to contain rebel advances. the opposition is again reporting successes. this unverified internet video is said to show bubbles seizing a town on the turkish border. -- rebels seizing a town on the turkish border. the fighting continues, but in damascus, u.n. special envoy lakhdar brahimi continues his pursuit for peace. >> we have reason to hope that the meetings will have a positive outcome. we do hope so. >> for now, syrians can only hope for peace. opposition activists say the conflict has now killed more than 45,000 people, most of them civilians. as 2012 draws to a close, no end to the violence in sight. >> in afg